CLACKAMAS, Ore. – Wildlife biologists today captured and killed a black bear that had been observed in the visitor area at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Bonneville Fish Hatchery earlier this week.

The 130-pound female black bear was captured in a culvert trap placed near the fish hatchery grounds on Tuesday. The bear, which was found in the trap Friday morning, was subsequently immobilized with tranquilizers at a secure location and then destroyed.

Biologists decided to put the animal down after concluding it did not have cubs and that it had been habituated to human food sources.

“This bear exhibited behavior that made it a poor candidate for being released back into the wild,” said Don VandeBergh, wildlife biologist for ODFW’s North Willamette Watershed District. The bear demonstrated classic signs of an animal that had lost its fear of humans. It showed up in a densely populated area in broad daylight, stood its ground when approached, and had accessed human food sources. “This is not the outcome we would have preferred but once a bear exhibits these behaviors it will likely repeat them and our options are very limited,” VandeBergh explained. “While this is unfortunate, public safety is our number one concern.”

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